Quotes from the Tanya -9
By zevi770 · February 19, 2012
CHAPTER 8
“Additionally another reason why non kosher food is called bound, for it is bound in the three wholly unclean kelipos to the extent that even if one was unaware that the food that he has eaten was non kosher and he uses the energy as his intent, namely to serve God, so he prays with alacrity, through the energy of this food, nonetheless it is still locked into the three wholly unclean Kelipos.”
“The desire for non kosher food etc. is a demon (who implants the desire) from the idol worshiping nations.”
“The desire for something Kosher, but purely for pleasures sake, is a Jewish demon.”
“As mentioned, even Kosher food later reintegrated into holiness (see chapter 7) requires chibut hakever (the eating of the body by worms) to annihilate man’s desires for pleasure, unless one like Rabeinu Hakodesh (a great Rabbi who authored the Mishnah, who though being exceptionally wealthy) never allowed himself to take any pleasure from the enjoyments of physical pleasure (it is a well known fact that bodies of righteous Tzaddikm e.g. twenty years after the fifth Chabad Rebbe died, they had to move his body, the body remains perfectly whole as if it was just put into the grave.)
“If one speaks words that are neither forbidden nor permitted, in other words, one who simply cannot engage in study of Torah, as his mind simply lacks the ability to study, hence the words spoken are neither holy nor forbidden, then Kaf Hakeleh (where the body in heaven is shown the beauty of holiness and contrasted to the person’s indulgence in frivolous permissible matters) is given, to transform one’s desire from indulgence in such matters to repulsion.”
“If one God forbid indulges in slander or mocking people (loshon hara, litzanois) then Kaf Hakelah doesn’t suffice to purge the sins, as it descended into the three wholly unclean Kelipas and one would need to go to hell (where exorcismic pain is associated to the cause of the crime, hence shifting the indulgence into horror, regret and the person gets cleansed of such a bad habit”)
“For not being productive out of sheer laziness, the hell of snow is applied (i.e. a person gets ice cold, for the nature of the punishment is to mirror the crime, thus transforming the desire for doing nothing – staying in one place so to say, with a negative associative exorcizimic pain, transforming the pleasure into horror, regret, hence cleansing the person of such a bad habit.”)
“Similarly one whose mind is fertile and wastes it on studying science instead of Torah, likewise is punished in hell.”
“Additionally it is far worse to waste time indulging in scientific studies when one can study Torah, for whereas one who indulges in idle chatter only affects his emotions, the one who studies science places his holy mind into the wisdom of the nations which receive their sustenance from the flip side of the mind of holiness.
However, if ones intention is for work, to sustain one’s family etc. or to better understand Torah (such as astronomy to understand the laws of sanctifying the new moon etc.) this is permissible and this is the reason why the Rambam and Ramban (great scientists and Rabbis) did master the sciences.”